Expeditions Don't Always go as Planned
by bruscha
Summary: The recon corps go on an expedition, and they run into a herd of titans. What will happen. Possible Riren? Yes i think so.
1. Chapter 1

The recon corps are on an expedition when they run into a herd of titans. What will happen to Eren and friends?

~Ereri is a-coming~

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A smoke signal burst into the air from the north-east side of the recon corps formation, alerting the others of approaching titans. The same then happened from all of the front lines. The titans found the soldiers and were quickly advancing towards them.

"Well shit…" Levi sighed, unamused.

Being in the center, and towards the back, he was in the safest spot in the formation. He glanced back at Eren who was never supposed to be further than the length of two horses behind him. The fifteen year old boy looked determined and ready to fight.

"That idiot better not do anything stupid. He should know that if anyone is to remain alive, it should be him. The brat should know that he's an important part of the team and that all of mankind depends on him." Levi thought as he turned back to face forwards.

By now, the formation began to start falling apart. Titans were now visible, even from way in the back. A messenger rode up to Levi.

"Erwin says to take Eren and a few backups and head to base. It's looking really bad on the front lines. By the way it's going, the people in this part of the formation will be exposed and will have to fight." The messenger repeated to the Corporal.

"Wait! Mikasa and Armin are in that area! I can't just leave them like that!" The boy's fierce expression suddenly became clouded in worry.

Levi simply nodded at the messenger, and the man rode away to the direction where he came from. The Corporal turned around for a second to take a look at Eren, his face still expressionless.

"If you are thinking about going up there to save those brats, then you are mistaken. They could take care of themselves. We are going back to the base as soon as I gather backup. Stay here." With that, the short man rode towards a group of elite soldiers.

"Tch", escaped from Eren. As if he was going to return to the safety of their base while his friends risk their lives to fight against those monsters. He felt the need to fight alongside his friends. He never forgot his promise to kill every single titian in order to avenge his mother. As he thought this, he quickened the horses pace in order to get closer to the titans. When he saw one plain in sight, he jumped off his horse, ready to use his 3D gear to slay the brute before him. It was then that the Corporal, furious sped towards the impulsive teenager.

"What the hell do you think you're doing you damned brat? Did I, or did I not tell you to stay over there?! I understand that you want to fight them, but now is not the time! We need you to be alive! Do you understand that at all?"  
Although the darker haired man was obviously angry, Eren could sense worry in his voice.

Levi rushed to him and lifted him onto his horse. "Was Corporal always this caring? And how is such a small man so strong as to lift me off the ground like that with ease?" Eren couldn't help but wonder, but he would never think of saying something like that to his superior. He didn't feel like dying at the hands of a human.

Levi kept Eren in front of him between his legs to make sure that the kid wouldn't try to leap off of his horse too. He wasn't about to let Eren get away from him that easily.

But the boy didn't struggle. He felt frozen to the spot, given his position. He could feel the other mans muscular chest and abs pressing against his back, and his chin resting on his shoulder. His face felt hot as a blush crept into his cheeks. He could only manage to turn his head in the opposite direction. He himself didn't understand why he was reacting this way. The only reason Corporals chin was on his shoulder was because he was shorter than him, and he wouldn't see ahead otherwise. So why? But that was a thought for another time.

With that, Levi steered the horse in the direction of the base, and the other elites followed behind him.  
"Why is Yaeger being so quiet? And why is he in that awkward position?" He thought as he glanced to the right where he could only see a slightly red ear.  
"Pffft", Levi couldn't help but let out a small laugh. When was the last time he actually laughed?

"What's so funny?" Eren said under his breath. Although the noise the man behind him made could hardly be called a laugh, he wondered what was amusing enough to make the seemingly emotionless man laugh.

Levi smirked, knowing that his face was not visible to anyone.  
"Nothing much, I just thought that your head might snap off with that position of yours."

Shocked the green eyed boy turned his face forward, and shifted his eyes towards the man whose head lay snuggly on his shoulder.  
"Is he smiling? Corporal looks surprisingly cute smiling…", he thought as his face grew slightly redder.  
"Better?" The brunette questioned sarcastically as he continued looking at Levi from the corner of his eye.

Noticing the teen looking at him, he immediately went back to his usual 'unamused' expression. Although he looked bored, he was actually very amused.  
"I wonder how much redder he could get…" Levi thought as he began to come up with ways to tease the boy.  
He moved his face significantly closer to the taller boys ear and breathily whispered:  
"Muuuch better, Eren"

Eren immediately turned beet red.  
"What. Why did he just whisper into my ear like that?! And did he just call me by name? He always calls me brat…" He thought in a panic. He couldn't think of any retort, so he just remained silent.

As much as Levi wanted to laugh, he knew he couldn't. Then the kid would know that he did that on purpose. But this guaranteed that Eren wouldn't turn back around, and he allowed himself to smile.  
"This brat can be cute too, huh?" He thought as they continued towards base in silence.


	2. Chapter 2

Takes place immediately after first chapter.

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After some time, Eren, Levi and the elites arrived at base.

"I can't believe you made me come back here without even letting me kill at least one titan!" The younger protested.

Levi didn't say anything, he simply looked at the boy and then started walking towards the stairs so he can go into his room and start writing his report of what happened day.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Didn't you want to fight them too? Why do you listen to other people's orders so easily? You are supposed to be mankind's strongest!" Eren pouted.

The Corporal stopped in his tracks and turned around to face the boy. Without changing his facial expression, he lectured the younger.

"… Unlike you, I have respect for my superiors. To become a respected soldier, you have to listen to the commands of your superiors. Also, I'm not exactly willing to die. I want to be useful, so I learned to judge situations accordingly. I don't go into battles that have seem like they'd have a low success rate. You have to think a little before you jump into things. Or you'll be eaten."

The boys green eyes widened at the sudden lecture, but Levi just stared at him. Satisfied he turned around and began walking away once again.

"Wait. Can you stay with me? If I'm alone, I'll just worry about the others…" the brunette said quietly.

The corporal simply turned his head towards the boy and sighed softly. He didn't say anything, he just waved his hand in a motion that meant "follow me".

The room was filled with the sounds of Levi's pen on paper as he filled out a report of today's occurrences, and Eren's footsteps.

"Will you just sit down already? I'm almost done, so try to calm down before I kick you in the face." The corporal said, very annoyed by the sound Eren's feet were making as he paced through his room.

"Sorry", the worried boy said quietly. He walked over to Levi's bed and sat on it. Now that he thought about it, Levi's room was very clean, and there was no more furniture then there needed to be. It felt pretty empty, but not in a bad way, if that made any sense.

Levi silently put his pen down, and observed the boy sitting on his bed. The boy looked around the room. To him, the boy looked lonely and scared as if he just found out that his closest friend had died.

"Don't look so glum, the casualties are still unknown, don't grieve before you find out anything for sure." He said, but the boy just looked down at his hands and said nothing.  
"Brat, look at me when I'm talking to you." Eren slowly looked up at Levi who silently walked over, and now stood in front of him.  
"You could always talk to me if you have any problems, I'm always willing to lend you an ear, ok? You got that?" The corporal reassured the troubled kid.  
"Now, let's go downstairs and see who came back." He reached his hand out for Eren to grab, and they walked down still holding hands.

"He's holding my hand, he's holding my hand…Why?" Eren thought, feeling unsettled. His cheeks had a slight, but visible blush.

The older man continued walking. He headed for the room in the old worn out castle where everyone entering would have to pass. This way they wouldn't miss anyone. Although he was doing this for Eren who was worried about his friends from his trainee days, Levi was also thinking about his men. How many died in this failure of an expedition? The guilt of previous expeditions, and the memories of his passed friends were all returning to him.  
At least the most important person to him was safe, and with him at the moment. He looked over at Eren who was looking from the ground, to his hand and back, visibly embarrassed.  
"His blush is adorable" Levi thought to himself as he let his hand go.

"Sorry I didn't realize that I was still holding your hand." Which was a lie, he held his hand on purpose. Although the Corporals expression remained unchanged, his thoughts shifted from those of guilt and self despise to thoughts of Eren, and his rosy cheeks whenever he was embarrassed.  
"At least his mind is off of Armin and Mikasa for now." Levi thought as they got to their destination. He sat down on the only, but very stiff sofa. The boy stood there dazed, his mind in the clouds.  
"Hey", the Corporal said, lazily. The boy looked down at the expressionless man.  
"Are you gonna sit, or are you just gonna stand there like an oaf?" He continued, as he tapped the sofa, signaling the green eyed boy to sit down next to him.

"Yeah…", the dazed boy answered, mind still elsewhere. Before he realized it, he was sitting right next to the Corporal, thighs touching.  
"Why are we this close?!" Eren thought, surprised, as if he wasn't the one who sat in that very spot himself. But he said nothing. He just sat there, wide eyed once again, and blushing even more.

"He has some guts. But what's the point of sitting so close to me if he's going to feel embarrassed afterwards?" Levi thought as he noticed the intense blush on the kids face. Not that he was complaining or anything.

It was then that the door creaked open. Eren slid over just a bit when the first people started coming in. He spoke to no one. He just waited to see signs of his friends. But as more people returned, the more worried he became.

"That's not them. That's not them", he thought after the arrival of each person. But as minutes shifted to hours, there were still no signs of the return of Armin and Mikasa. This caused him to grow more worried.

"Where the hell are they?", he whispered unintentionally.

Levi put his hand on the anxious boy's knee, but said nothing. This was all the comfort he could give him right now. He wasn't going to tell Eren that his friends are ok, because it really was possible that they were no longer alive. He preferred to be hurt by the truth, than be pleased by a lie, so he acted the same way towards others, Eren included.

"Hope for the best, but expect the worst."

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Alrighty! Two chapters~  
It would be nice if you guys left me some reviews, I need some constructive criticism. What can i fix?  
Thanks for reading, i really appreciate it 3


	3. Chapter 3

After eyeing down every person who walked through the door for some time that felt like an eternity, the anxious boy noticed a familiar face. Jean. He had despair written all over his face; his eyes were dark and cast downward, his lips shut tightly as though he were trying to stop himself from crying. His hands were clamped in fists, shaking ever so slightly. What happened?

Although he was afraid of finding out what had happened to make Jean look so depressed, Eren got up and walked over to his fellow soldier, leaving Levi behind. The older man remained seated, but it wasn't a problem, he was still within earshot of his subordinates.

"Where are Mikasa and Armin?" Eren asked quietly.  
"…" Jean didn't reply. He just froze in spot and looked up from the floor at Eren.  
"JEAN. WHERE ARE THEY?" He repeated himself, this time considerably louder.  
"…First it was my best friend Marco…" Jean started. What the hell is he going off about? "…Why her? WHY HER? I LOVE HER!" A single tear trailed down the interrogated boys face. "Why do the titans destroy everything precious to me? Why?" He choked out, trying not to start sobbing.

Connie just came in and immediately walked up to Jean. He put his arm over the others shoulder, and began pulling him away from the scene. "Let's go, you need some rest."

The green eyed boy stood, confused. He couldn't possibly be talking about Mikasa? She was supposed to have the strength of a hundred soldiers. She couldn't have died that easily, right?

It was then that he noticed Sasha standing off on the side, having witnessed everything. She made her way towards him. She looked more serious than Eren could have imagined possible. It was obvious that something horrible had happened. Sasha hardly ever looked serious, but when she did, it wasn't over just anything. So he tried to brace himself, but no avail.

She didn't waste her time to get to the point. "Mikasa is dead. She tried to take on 3 titans by herself. Two 12 meter class and one 9 meter class. While she was attacking one of the 12 meters, the 9 meter grabbed her by the 3DMG and… swung her into a tree…breaking her spine. She died on the spot. They brought her back, so… you can… go to her later. After they finish writing reports. As for Armin, his whereabouts are unknown. Nobody saw him die, but he's nowhere to be found. That's all I know." She bit her lip. She felt pretty bad about the situation herself. After all, she did get pretty close to Mikasa during their trainee days. Armin too, of course. But Eren had known the two since they were young. The three of them had the closest relationship out of any of the soldiers. She couldn't say anything more to him, so she offered him her condolences while holding back tears. "I'm sorry for your loss…" With that she walked away.

He stood there shocked. What Sasha just told him couldn't be true. He watched her back in disbelief as she walked away, head hanging low. It just couldn't be true. He was too shocked to say anything. Instead, he ran to his room in the dungeon, where he collapsed on the floor and clutched his head, trying his hardest not to cry.

Having heard everything, Levi felt a pang of guilt. How many casualties was that now? But that didn't matter right now. What mattered was the pain that he knew Eren was going through. He knew that pain very well. Too well. He got up off of the sofa and chased after the boy.

When he had arrived to the room in the dungeon, he found the boy kneeling on the floor. Eren had been through so much. This was his second, and possibly his third loss to a titan. Those bastards.

Levi walked over to where Eren was and kneeled in front of him. When the boy didn't react to his presence, he pulled him in for a hug. "It's ok to cry."

The boy grabbed the back of the older man's shirt and pressed his face into his chest as he began sobbing. Eren's tears were staining the fabric of his shirt, but it didn't matter. Eren needed the comfort. After a short while, he placed his hands on the boy's shoulders and distances him just enough so that he can at his face. His eyes were red, and his cheeks were wet and slightly red from crying. The boy looked at him, tears still flowing, waiting for him to speak.

"Don't forget your promise. Now it's for her too. For your mom, and for Ackerman. Exterminate every single one of those bastard titans. Together with me." He then pulled Eren back into his chest. He felt the boy nod his head against his chest.

"Thank you." He replied weakly. The teary eyed boy was really thankful to Corporal. The comforting meant a lot coming from him.

"She died an honorable death, so instead of grieving too much, be proud of having a brave and strong sister like her." The gray eyed man added.

"Of course, Sir!" Eren stated. The flash of determination was back in his eyes, and that's what Levi liked to see. The boy was obviously still down because of the turn of events, but either way he was able to move forwards while still remembering those in his past. It's one of the many things that he liked about him.

"Don't you ever forget that." Corporal said without breaking eye contact. He then leaned in, and kissed gently kissed on the forehead. "I have a lot of work to do, so I'll take my leave now. Remember what I said before. You can always talk to me about anything. I'm willing to lend you an ear anytime." He gave a nod of confirmation before he got up and left the dungeon room.

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Reviews would be much appreciated! What can I add? What can i fix? Since I'm still pretty new to writing, it would help if I were to receive some constructive criticism. Thanks for reading~


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